


They were always there

by konfuse



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gem Totem, Gen, Mythology - Freeform, cryptid, cw: injury, cw: mention of death, more to come - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-08-29 18:25:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8500441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/konfuse/pseuds/konfuse
Summary: Humans tend to be superstitious. Living in a world with alien gems that appear and disappear again, there have to be some myths surrounding these god-like creatures, which can wield magic and are super-strong.
This is a collection of short stories exploring different ideas about how early men might have seen the gems, their war, their demise. I'll try to use in-world canon (as much as it's possible) as well as myths from our world.
Enjoy!





	1. Home - How the Temple came to be

**Author's Note:**

> Who build the temple? Why was is build in the first place? When was it build? Why is it called a temple? 
> 
> There are a couple of possibilities:  
> \- The Homeworld Gems build it  
> \- The Chrystal Gems build it  
> \- Humans build it. 
> 
> I'll go with the third possibility.

Nothing like this had ever happened before! They had heard rumors. The elder talking about giant people who couldn’t die. Myths about warriors who fell for beautiful goddesses who did not care, for humans seemed beneath them. They’ve heard stories about people so strong they could destroy a village without trouble. 

Never would she have thought to witness one of these. To witness them fighting. Fighting for her people at that.

\----

Like every winter their tribe had traveled to the coast. They had their camp behind the hill. Normally it was a silent, calm time. Fish was plenty and the children collected mussels, kelp and nice looking stones at the beach.  
The girl walked slowly towards the hill and once more she looked at the perfectly round zylinder that was positioned there, inside a little cave. She couldn’t help but touch it. The surface was smooth and light. It was made so beautifully.

“Sister! Sister! Look at this!”  
She looked up. Her two little siblings came running towards her, the little boy holding a giant crab in his hand.  
“Well done.”  
“It only had one eye! Look!”  
“Are you looking at the weird rock again?” her sister looked annoyed, carrying a basket full of kelp.  
“Yeah. It’s just so… different,” she looked to the ground and then stepped down. “Let’s go back.”  
While the kids started walking, the boy began to tell his epic tale about his fight against the crab. The girl chuckled. Her brother loved to tell stories. 

Suddenly there was a high pitched sound and a light behind them.  
When she looked back she saw a group of people appearing in a ray of light, the bodies building themselves up, in an unnatural way and then they stood there. Tall. Beautiful. Frightening.  
The three siblings froze in their step. The other kids who had been walking around the beach now ran towards each other or towards the settlement.

One of the beautiful stranger looked to the kids and gasped softly when she recognized them.  
“Humans!”

The girl shoved her siblings behind her. She had never seen such a tall woman. She had the most fluffy, pink hair. With her were more people, of all colours and sizes, but most of them were huge. 

“Don’t be afraid, humans!” the giantess took a step towards the group. The girl took a step backward, taking care that her siblings stayed behind her.  
“Rose! We need to go!”  
“Ye… yes,” the pink lady hesitated. “Take care humans!” and the strangers left into the other direction. 

“What was that?!” the little brother nearly screamed.  
“I don’t know. Let’s go.”, the girl ushered her siblings towards the settlement, catching the other kids on their way. 

\----

Later that evening in the community tent, while the whole clan was eating together, her siblings told the story to the adults who exchanged worried looks. Old stories and Legends were compared to today's events so the elder decided to travel further along the beach to get away from these stranger, whoever they were. They would leave the next morning. 

In the middle of the night, they awoke from screaming and a loud crash. The girl and her family ran outside. Giant monsters were rummaging in the village.  
She and her father grabbed spears, while other fighters were attacking the monsters and everyone else tried to bring the kids and elderly towards safety. 

She should probably have been afraid, but right now everything that mattered was to give her family the chance to flee.  
It was clear that they stood no chance against these monsters. Warriors were tossed away like nothing, thrown into the air and probably killed. A dire situation. 

That was the moment when the tables turned. When the monsters had seemed gigantic, the being that appeared now resembled a titan.  
It had to be a goddess, for she had eight arms, two faces and was scary but beautiful and immediately started to destroy the monster, fighting them with a sword, fire and lighting, making them explode into smoke. 

It took her only minutes until the titan was surrounded by floating bubbles containing crystals and gems.  
The humans stood there, looking up at that goddess and waiting for what would happen next. 

“Humans, you’re safe for now. Take your soldiers and go home,” her voice was beautiful.  
And with that she carefully touched the bubbles and made them disappear.  
The warrior awoke from their stare and started to move, bringing the injured towards the huts and tents, while others ran to the fled people to bring them back. 

The girl and a few other still stood there, staring, waiting. Finally the goddess left towards the sea and disappeared. 

The next morning the adults had another talk. They still wanted to continue traveling down the coast, south. Some argued they wanted to stay, waiting for the goddess again, wanting to worship her and they would.

The girl decided to stay, her brother too. The rest of the family left. But it was fine. Maybe they would come back one day. They said goodbye and those who stayed started to build a small village. 

\----

She remembered like it had happened yesterday but it were years alreday.  
“If we want to worship her, we need a temple!” the girl looked over to the hill with the cave and the platform.  
The village was doing nicely. They had built a couple of huts, caught some game and put it in a stable to domest it. A little more away from the beach they started to cultivate crops.  
“What do you mean?” a couple of people stopped in their tracks and looked at her.  
“That thing in the cave is where they appear. It is a sacred place… we need to… make it a temple so people will know.” 

\----

When Rose and the Crystal Gems came back to that beach centuries later, they didn’t find the humans there, only some ruins of wooden huts and wild growing crops.  
But they also found a statue of their fusion.  
Rose remembered the humans from so long ago and smiled. New humans would come and go. And they would be here to take care that they could live their short live safely and happily. 

 

“I think we found home.”


	2. The Totem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is up with the totem that Greg had in his storage unit in "Maximum Capacity" (S. 1 E. 43)?  
> Three stories about three "creatures" used for the Totem.   
> (Sorry for possible mistakes)

**The Totem One**

Hunting was never easy but when the game fled into the canyon it became especially hard.  
There were crooks and corners. The sound would jump from wall to wall and make it harder to find the right direction.  
The young man went in anyway. There was nothing to fear in this canyon. It was beautiful, for a few months of every year a stream flowed along it’s bottom, giving all kind of animals a place to feed on the soft grass. There had never been anything evil or dangerous in this place, even though the world had changed. The world shook more often lately and the water seemed to dry out.

The man slowly crept forward, listening to every sound and reacting accordingly, wanting to hunt down this deer that had evaded him so masterfully, when the world started to shake once again. 

Everything around him collapsed and he did his best to dodge all the stones and boulders that came tumbling down from the top but to no avail. One of his legs got stuck between two rocks. He could feel that the was broken. It hurt and he screamed out his pain.  
The deer passed him, running for its life.  
This was it. He would die here. No one knew where he was, his people not expecting him home for another couple of days. He would die of thirst and hunger. Maybe his flesh would be good for some predator to feast upon. 

Just that moment, a giant shadow obscured the sun.  
“What are you doing there, little human?”, a deep, thundering voice asked.  
When the young man looked up he saw a giant being with four arms and a shining, orange stone for a nose.  
Never in his life had he seen something like this, but he had heard about it. Giant goddesses, fighting their battles on earth. This had to be one of them.  
What did this mean? Was it a blessing or a curse? He wanted to answer, to ask for help but he couldn’t. His voice did not obey him. He was in pain and could only utter some grunting noises.  
“You humans are so weird. I don’t understand why Rose wants to rescue you… but I guess she has her reasons.”  
The hunter looked up at her with pleading eyes, hoping she would understand and have mercy and either rescue or kill him. She looked at the young man once again from her big eyes with a confused look.  
“You’re stuck, aren’t you?”  
He nodded.  
“Well, I guess I’ll help you get free then. If I leave you here I’ll never hear the end of it. And it will be very dangerous, very soon.” and with that she took the boulders away, like they were only little pebbles. She wasn’t very careful and he nearly passed out from the pain.  
“Hey there, little human! You’re free! Get up, go away!”  
Before he could react or try to think of a way how he should accomplish this, the earth shook again and he was picked up and spun around like a puppet.  
It hurt! Again he nearly passed out and again he screamed.  
“OH MY STARS! Human! Did I squish you?! I’m sorry but we got attacked!”  
The young man slowly opened his eyes. Between two giant fingers he could see another giant goddess, this one being red, square and angry.  
“Hang on, human! I just have to beat them and then I’ll bring you to Rose! She’ll heal you… Good thing I only need two fists for that!”  
“YOU CRYSTAL GEM WON’T GET THIS KINDERGARTEN!”  
That was the last thing he heard and then everything went black. 

\-------

“Can we keep him?”  
“I’m sorry but humans have to be free so they can grow and change…”  
“Aww but, Rose!!!”  
“Hush… We’re waking him up. Sleep again, human.” 

\-------

When he awoke he was alone and lying in a small cave, his bow and arrow right beside him. His leg did not hurt anymore. When he looked at it, he saw that it was completely healed. In an instant he scrambled up and ran out of the cave. There was a little pond with water and he hastily drank from it. After a short look around he realized that he was at the fringe of the canyon. As fast as he could the young hunter gathered his things and hurried back home. 

He needed to tell everyone what he had experienced on his hunt. Maybe he would find another deer on his way home. 

* * *

**The Totem Two  
**

“He was in a dire situation, when one of the gods came to rescue him. She was tall, green and had four arms! Her body was adorned with precious stones. On her hands, her nose, her neck...”

“Like my pendant? Just really huge?”, one young girl pointed towards the colourful stone that was hanging around her neck. 

“No. Nonono!”, the storyteller answered. “The stones were buried in the goddesses’ flesh. In place of a nose, she had an orange stone. In the side of her hand and on her neck were stones too. Those stones were part of her.” 

“Woah!” the children sitting around looked at the older boy with big eyes. 

“Indeed! You are right to be impressed. The goddess took our ancestor in her hand and kept him safe while she fought another giant. I was an epic battle, like only few happened before. The earth shook, the sun clouded and the animals fled but in the end the goddess won and she brought our ancestor to safety.”

“What happened then?!”  
“I like the next part.”  
“Me too!”  
“Shhhh!” 

The boy laughed. Telling the kids stories was always one of his favorite activities.  
“She took him to the place where the other gods live. It must have been the most beautiful place. There, the goddesses healed his wounds so he could go back to his people and tell them about the giant goddesses fighting for the planet and mankind.”

“I want to see a goddess too!” a young girl jumped up looking very determined.  
“Me too!” another screamed, stretching her arm up too. 

“Everyone wants to see them, but they only appear in dangerous situations as they are always fighting giants. So it’s best to not see them.” 

“But they’ll keep us safe, won’t they?”  
“They want to, that’s for sure.” 

It had been a long time since one of their people had seen a goddess and if so only from a long distance and always while fighting. It was important to tell the kids these stories so they knew, but they should not get reckless. These giant beings could easily crush tiny humans who ran around their feet.  
“Just remember, you can’t always tell which are friendly and that you always have to be careful but also thankful towards them when they help you.”  
“YES BROTHER!” the children screamed in unison. 

It was years later when not only one or two of them got the chance to meet a goddess but the whole tribe.  
She appeared out of nowhere, asking to talk to the chief-human.  
This goddess was one that none of them had ever seen before, she wasn’t green and looked nothing like the little wooden figurines that had been made since the fateful day when the warrior had been rescued. 

This goddess had eight arms and long pink hair and her voice thundered through the little village when she told the chief that they had to leave. “Soon this place will be filled with gems, ready to battle and not caring about human life. Go east. There will be more humans who gather to find a peaceful place. When everything is over we’ll go there too. It will be marked by a pink star. There you’ll be safe.”

It was a long travel and for days and nights they could hear the sounds of battle behind them. 

A few tribesmen had turned back after some days to see what had happened, when they finally returned they told them that their former home was now a wasteland. 

Had they stayed, they would be dead, for sure. 

\------

“It is important to remember her because without her, we would not have survived.” the young man looked at the kids, sitting around him. 

“Was she with the other goddess too?!”  
“No. We don’t know if they met each other or if they are sisters. They could even be enemies.” 

“I bet they are sisters!” one boy nodded to himself.  
“What if they are lovers?” another asked with a low voice and her friend snickered.  
“Maybe. We won’t ever know. As she had told us, we found the other humans. We found the spot, marked with the pink star but she never appeared.”  
“Will she come back, one day?”  
“Maybe when we’re in danger again,” and he finally pulled out two little figures.  
“This is the green goddess, the one who helped our ancestor and healed him. This is the pink goddess who helped our whole tribe to survive. Remember them and tell their story to your children.”  
“YES, BROTHER!” 

* * *

**The Totem Three:**

The fights had become more frequent, so the humans had to flee more often, hiding in caves.  
The people still told stories about the gods who had come to help them. Help will come. 

It didn’t. Not really. There was only fleeing and hiding. 

Then one day, the sky flashed in a blinding light and the air was filled with a noise so unearthly that some people would even go mad hearing it.  
After that, everything was silent for a moment. 

The world had changed. Strange creatures appeared but people could easily scare them off with loud noises, at least most of the time. They weren’t more dangerous than a wolf or a bear.  
But there was also no sign of the goddesses. 

“I wonder where they went… or if they ever existed?” the girl walked along a small trail, looking for the symbol she drew on a tree as a hint to where she had hidden the snare.  
“How dare you?! Of course they did exist. What other reason is there to learn the stories?” her brother sounded appalled.  
“I don’t know,” she shrugged before she hunched down, finding the snare empty. “maybe it’s some kind of lecture: ‘Be aware of your surroundings.’ or ‘There can’t be always almighty entities to help you’. Or something”  
“I’m pretty sure that is blasphemy.”  
“I’m pretty sure you’re an idiot. It’s empty. I refilled the bait. Let’s continue.”

The siblings continued their way, checking the traps they had laid out.  
“Do you want to get up the hill?” the brother looked tired.  
“Yes. I would like to feel the sun on my skin before we go back.”  
“I’ll wait for you here.”  
“Do as you like, brother.” 

The girl started up the hill. She had never liked staying in the shadows all the day and they would get home in the night, giving her no chance to feel the sun on her face.  
When she finally arrived on the top of the hill though, she had no chance to enjoy her sunbath. Before she stepped out from under the trees she heard a scream and looked up to see two fighting monsters, a giant bird without eyes and a bear-like creature. In an instant she hid back in the shadows before they could see her. 

Even though the situation was dangerous, she froze and witnessed the bird finally defeating the bear by making it explode into a cloud; only leaving a stone behind that the bird snatched up and swallowed.  
This must be like in the old days, she thought, when the goddesses still walked the earth and fought each other. Now they had sent their servants to continue their fights.  
With big eyes, the girl watched the bird scream and take off into the sky. She ran down the hill to her unaware brother to tell him what she had seen:  
He was right. The old stories are true. They need to be told so people won’t forget. 

* * *

**The Totem Epilog:**

“Hey, what about that?” Greg pointed towards a totem pole that was laying on the side.  
“I dunno. I made it to sell it to tourists,” the man looked kind of ashamed to the ground, “I know I shouldn’t do stuff like that. It’s also not very well made...”  
“What are those creatures?”  
“Uhm… kind of like old gods or something. I kind of read about them. Giants that fought on earth millennia ago and stuff…”  
The young man looked at it with awe. He could find inspiration from it. The creatures looked out of this world.  
“What do you want for it?”  
“Nothing. Just take it. I’m glad if its gone.”  
“Awesome… help me put it in the van!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I don’t know much about Totems I researched a little bit beforehand and understood that they used to be/are a symbol of pride and can be (kind of) compared with european family crests.  
> To simplify for those who don’t know (please correct me if I’m wrong), the animals in totems symbolise a connection of the family to those (in one text I read that the animals could be some kind of ancestor).  
> I believe it would be impossible to have such a connection to gems, so I decided to play with the whole matter and even throw in a simple solution about why the figures of those gem/-creatures are in the form of a totem at all.  
> It was made to sell it to some tourists, by some douche.
> 
> I hope you could enjoy the story anyway.


	3. The Monster called Nessie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All around the world you'll find cryptids. One of the most famous is the Monster of Loch Ness.  
> Money down, in the world of the chrystal gems you can probably explain all of them with corrupted gems. But humans don't know that.  
> (Sorry for possible mistakes)

_Diary of Sir Nigel Counterbottom the third._

**Day One:**  
We finally arrived at “Loch Ness” (translates to Lake Ness). I can’t wait to start looking for the beast known as the “Monster of Loch Ness”. It is supposed to look like the dinosaur known as plesiosauria. If that is true it would be amazing to study this thought-to-be-extinct creature in their natural habitat.  
Oh, how delightful. 

**Day Two:**  
We set up camp near the lake, away from the spying eyes of the locals. We’ll try to find the monster with several methods.  
First we’ll try to lure it in with plenty of fish. Since the plesiosaurus is known to have lived in lakes or the sea, it is likely that it fed on fish.  
Good old John is on the lake fishing for bait right now.  
Since he is occupied, it is on me to prepare the food for us humans. I’m looking forward to it since it’s quite some time that I have tried preparing a meal. 

**Addition to day two:**  
I’m glad John is with me on this expedition or else I would probably starve to death. I need to remember to give the chef at home my sincere thanks. She does a great job. 

**Day four:**  
We tried to lure the monster but it is not working. Maybe plesiosaurs don’t like to eat fish after all? The question is what else can we use? The lake is too big to search it all on our own. It’s also freezing cold and too deep to dive into.  
John attempted a dive but came back rather fast. It is impressive that he is willing to bathe and even swim in the lake every morning.  
But I think I’ll try it too. I should be able to do it. I used to be one of the best in my university's swimming team. 

**Day five:**  
I think I’ll stick to using an washbowl and a cloth.

**Day ten:**  
We went to the nearby town to resupply. John asked some locals about the monster and they responded that it appears rarely, mostly leaving them alone. It does not interfere with the locals daily lives so they mostly leave it alone.  
It seems to be attracted to loud noises. We might find a way to put this useful information to use. 

**Day 14:**  
I am building a little machine to make powerful noises. I thought of using one of the local bagpipes that I purchased because I like the quirky sound of it. I’ll need to get me another one.  
I connected the instrument to a bullhorn that amplify the sound. We’ll see if that can bring out the monster. 

**Day 16:**  
We need to wait for better weather. A thick fog wound up. 

**Day 17:**  
The locals say the weather will stay like this for some time.  
I decided to put up camp further north to the middle of the lake. 

**Day 19:**  
I THINK I SAW IT! I THINK I SAW ITS SILHOUETTE THROUGH THE FOG! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! I ALSO THINK I HEARD ITS CALL! Interestingly enough it did sound like a bagpipe so maybe our plan will work. 

**Day 23:**  
I think I saw it again, so did John. We’re pretty sure it is the monster. It does look like a plesiosaurus, meaning it has a small head on a long neck. We heard its call again, and this time we thought we could even discern a melody to it.

**Day 24:**  
The fog is gone but unfortunately, a heavy rain started up so we still can’t row out onto the lake. John and I are taking turns to look out at the lake in hopes of spotting it again. I would love to get a clear view of it. 

**Day 30:**  
The rain has stopped. Tomorrow we’ll take the boat out and I’ll use the sound-lure. We did not see the Monster. In the early morning hours though, I thought I heard it "sing". 

**Day 35:**  
By the honor of my mother I swear the following is true. 

In the early morning hours of the 31st day of our expedition to the Loch Ness, to find the monster that is supposed to live in it, my companion John and I rowed out towards the middle of the lake.  
As we had seen the silhouette of the thing we had suspected to be the last surviving plesiosaurus, we had decided to lure the monster in with a device that I had constructed, composed of a bagpipe and a bullhorn.  
Out on the lake I started to blow the lure-device and to our delight and horror the monster did appear and attack.  
John muttered a prayer and I for myself was sure that I would not survive either. But the world is full of mysteries and as one can see I am still alive.  
I have to thank four strange women who appeared out of nowhere. One of them carried us to the shore where we could see the others fight the monster from our boat.  
Two of them even fused into one giant woman, shooting the screaming creature with a bow and arrow and making it disappear. Down dropped a single stone, which another of the women caught out of the air. Then the giant woman split up into two again and they all leapt high into the sky and landed on the shore, right beside us.  
Rarely have I seen such a strange group of women, varying in size, shape and even brilliant colours.  
The tallest woman who had also caught the stone, leaned down to us, asking if we were all right and what we were doing out there.  
To my disgrace I wasn’t able to answer in coherent sentences, too distracted by the things that had just happened. 

The four women then jumped off, disappearing. Maybe forever. I have no idea who these wondrous women were and why they appeared the moment we lured the monster out but they saved our lives.  
I am thankful towards them but at the same time I am now left with nothing to prove what I have seen. I’m glad that at least John will be able to confirm my story. 

* * *

_A few years later:_

**Day 85:**

Has it really only been around three months since I left the empire? It feels like a lifetime since I boarded that ship to seek the truth in the new colonies. Sometimes I still lament the fact that John didn’t confirm what we had experienced and so everyone called me insane for telling my unbelievable tale.  
I can’t even be angry at them for I probably would have reacted in the very same way if one of them had told me that story.  
But all of this is in the past and I have heard rumors about a village called “Beach City”. It is said to be protected by entities that look human but are far more than that.  
I will seek out that place and hopefully find what I need to give my mind peace.

* * *

**The Monster called Nessie Epilog:**

Amethyst looks around, carefully. Where are those humans? Over there… she snickers to herself. Now she only has to remember how the corrupted gem had looked. Oh yeah, like those weird dinosaur things. Whatever. She slowly slips into the water and dives down. While diving she already starts to shapeshift. It is easy and fun to swim in this form. She should use it more often.  
One last time she searches for those humans. Now is the time to rise and have a good laugh. Depending on how well this will work she might even come back for another gig.  
Here we go…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what I’m even doing. I hope you like Nigel.  
> \-----  
> I have to add another thing:  
> Before writing this chapter I had to refresh my knowledge about Loch Ness and the monster, people claim lives in it.  
> Additionally I read up about photos and the Nessi-photos (you can see a photo in the lighthouse) and since Nigel is visiting Loch Ness before taking a photo was something you could do without much problems, I had to add an explanation for that too.  
> I hope you enjoy the idea that Ame is messing with humans too.


End file.
